


dirty socks

by watergator



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Angst, Boyfriends, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2018-12-27 17:36:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12085974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watergator/pseuds/watergator
Summary: based off of dan's 'what not to do at university' videodan finds himself outside, alone, in the freezing cold at two in the morning with a suitcase full of dirty laundry, and even though uni is eating him alive, there's only really one person he wants to be with.





	dirty socks

It’s just a little over two in the morning when Dan finds himself outside of his university campus, suitcase in hand, tightly wrapped in the one coat he remembered to bring.  
The wind is harsh, his coat doing little to nothing to offer him any warmth and it feels as if his fingers are going to fall off from being exposed for so long.  
He would say he’s had the worst possible day, but so far he’s said that about every day for the last two weeks since he arrived here.

He thinks about running away, but his laptop and all his important junk is still in his dorm and he knows it would be a stupid idea, just to chicken out and leave. He can’t do that.  
So instead he’s outside, to-ing and fro-ing with himself on what to do; his clothes are dirty and the nearest laundrette is shut, the next best one being on the other side of the city.   
He thinks back to his experience with the laundromat over a week ago and shudders. He doesn’t want to experience that again, so his next best bet is Phil.

It was Phil that suggested he used his washing machine off handily one day when Dan was complaining that the dryer never fully dried his clothes properly and was left to wear half cold, half wet clothes for the whole week.  
Dan had taken him up on his offer because it was convenient and easy – but it was the middle of the night now and Phil would be asleep and wouldn’t want to bothered by Dan and his stinky socks right now.

But the pounding in Dan’s chest reminded him that this was anxiety, that Phil wouldn’t care, that Phil would welcome him with open arms and he’s have a hot chocolate down him as soon as he stepped into the apartment.  
Dan was cold and tired and all sorts of emotions, so before he could change his mind, he was clambering into the back of a cab, giving the driver the directions to Phil’s flat.

The car ride is quiet, and Dan sends a quick thank you to some higher authority for not having to socialise for a while because he’s just too tired.  
They eventually arrive and as Dan swings the door open, the man opens his mouth,

“That’ll be twenty” he nods into the mirror and suddenly Dan freezes.

Fuck. He left his wallet back in his dorm and even if he had it on him, he’d still be fucked because there’s nothing in it.

“Oh, uh, I..” Dan stammers, still frozen between the door and the pavement, hoping that somehow the Earth would open up and eat him up right on the spot to save him.

The man says nothing, which makes it incredibly worse, so Dan desperately shoves his hands in his pockets and prays.   
He finds a couple of coins, enough to make up around £7.46, which isn’t nearly enough, but as Dan keeps digging, he knows he’s wasting his time. That was the last of his money, and more isn’t going to appear out of thin air.

His brain suddenly clicks when he realises he’s outside of Phil’s apartment, and he smiles,  
“My boyfriend – he lives just up there, let me run up and get some money out, it’ll only take a second, I swear –“ But Dan is cut off because he can even move because the driver is now stepping out of the car, and that’s when Dan gets a good look at him.  
He’s a short, chubby man, probably in his mid-forties and is a victim of some serious balding. 

His cheeks and nose go red from the cold and his grey eyebrows knit in anger,  
“Boyfriend?” he questions, his thick arms crossing over his jutted out chest, and Dan feels his stomach drop in fear.

Dan dryly swallows and nods,   
“Y-Yeah, just up there” Dan points to the building above them.

The man side eyes him, and he sure that he’s about to throw up a lung or something. Now really isn’t the time to have to be confronted with a scary homophobic man at two in the morning who looks like he could probably kill him with one punch.

“I can go get the money, I won’t leave I swear” Dan tries again, desperation dripping from his voice.

He knows he left some money behind at Phil’s a few nights ago, he’d been meaning to get it back but with school and life in general, it must’ve slipped his mind – it’s literally the only money he’s got to his name and his ticket out of this awkward confrontation.

But the man shakes his head, reaches into his pocket and fishes out his phone,  
“No, I’m sorry but if you can’t pay I’m calling the authorities”

His voice is stern and unforgiving and Dan can’t even feel his legs anymore. This is insane – he can’t believe he’s out here, in the freezing cold, probably about to be arrested or something because he can’t go upstairs and grab some money.

That’s when his brain has flicker of an idea. Phil. If he could get Phil to bring the money down to him, then there would be no problem (no cops) and everyone could go on their merry way.

“Wait!” Dan almost yells, and the man looks up from his phone, not looking impressed.

“I can get my boyfriend to bring the money down, that way you know I won’t fuck off or something” 

It’s a reach, but it seems enough as he silently slips his phone back into his pocket and tells him to phone him.

Dan fumbles for his phone, hands cold and numb but he finds Phil’s name in his contacts, but it’s just as he’s about to hit call, he gets a sudden wave of anxiety.

Phil is probably asleep right now.  
Phil isn’t expecting Dan.  
Dan just assumed he could come over without even asking.  
It’s two in the fucking morning and Dan’s outside on the verge of tears because he can’t afford a cab.  
He can’t afford a cab and can’t work out how to use a laundromat because he can’t do anything.

Dan feels like an idiot.

But he doesn’t have much time to really dwell on this insecurities because the cab driver clears his throat and Dan hits call.  
The phone rings for what feels like forever, and Dan’s sure Phil won’t pick up but the line goes through and is greeted with Phil’s voice,

“Hullo?” his voice is heavy and deep, laced with sleep and Dan can almost imagine him lying in bed with tufts of hair sticking up all over the place,

“Hey Phil” Dan starts, maybe too optimistic and loud because the nerves are getting to him a little too much,

“Dan?” Phil sounds confused, and those nerves seem to bubble ever so slightly,

“Hey,” Dan says again. He feels the cab drivers eyes on him, and is slightly pressured to just get Phil down here as soon as possible,

“So, um, I’m outside and –“ he’s cut off before he can finish his sentence,

“Wait, what? You’re outside?” he sounds more awake now,

“Yes, I’m outside” he repeats, and shoots an apologetic smile to the man who looks just as cold as Dan feels,

“What are you doing outside?” Phil asks, and from what Dan can hear it sounds as if he’s up now,

“Look, I’ll explain in a second, it’s just that – “ he pauses, “I don’t have enough for the cab, can you bring me some money down please?” his voice is quiet and he hopes that Phil heard it through the phone because he doesn’t want to go through the embarrassment of having to repeat himself.

There’s a stunned silence before,  
“Oh, uh, yeah! Sure, just gimmie a second” 

They share goodbyes and hang up, Dan explains that he’ll be a second and they stand awkwardly in the cold, both men hugging themselves in an effort to keep warm.   
Dan counts the seconds, and he’s not sure if it’s because he’s timing Phil on how fast he can get down here, or if it’s a conscious effort to sooth his anxiety, but within a minute, Phil has arrived.

He’s clad in pyjama pants, and a hoodie, hair dishevelled and he’s wearing his glasses.  
At least he remembered to take his contacts out before he went to bed, Dan thinks.

He jogs over to the both of them, nods a quick hello and is handing out the man a few notes, when Dan remembers he didn’t even tell Phil how much he needed, and the guy is fishing out some change for them.  
Eventually the cab pulls away and is out of sight of mind, and the two boys are retreating into the warmth of the building, Dan’s suitcase dragging heavily behind them.

They’re in the elevator when one of them decides to sleep,  
“Sorry to wake you” Dan says timidly, looking down at his scuffed shoes,

“It’s okay” Phil smiles, and when Dan looks up, he sees it a genuine smile; a real smile. And he smiles genuinely back.

They elevator dings and they clamber sleepily out and when Phil swings the door to his apartment open he can’t help but feel as if he’s home.

“So, uh, is everything okay?” Phil asks as he makes his way to the kitchen, automatically making them both a hot drink, and Dan notices he’s eyeing the suitcase up and down.

“Oh! Right, yeah,” Dan laughs, looking at the case in his hand, “I just, uh, needed to use your washing machine” he says like it’s a perfectly normal thing to be doing at now half two in the morning.

“Riiiight” Phil muses, pulling two mugs down from the cupboard, “Hello Kitty mug or Twilight?” he asks, turning to face Dan who’s now sat on one of the stools by the breakfast bar,

Dan thinks for a second, before,  
“Twilight”

Phil pours the milk into the two mugs, Phil’s got a Jurassic World mug of course, and places them both into the microwave and starts the timer.

“Sorry again” Dan says as he watches the mugs go round slowly, “I should’ve called”

Phil’s now joining him on the breakfast bar, “Honestly Dan, it’s okay” he assures him and Dan just nods.

“So, uh, you’re free to use the machine if you want now, that’s why you came here” Phil jokes and Dan jumps up from where’s he’s sitting and lets out a dry laugh,

“Right, yeah”

He crouches down to where he’s left his suitcase, in the middle of the kitchen floor and drags it towards the washing machine. He unzips it with ease, since he actually didn’t bring a lot of clothes with him to uni, and stares at the machine for a few solid seconds.

That’s when he bursts into tears.

Phil is by him in a second, and he feels a hand gently on his back as sobs wrack his body, he feels so pathetic and babyish but now the floodgates are open, there’s surely no stopping them.

Phil manages to calm him down, reducing the sobs to little sniffles, and they now have their backs against the wooden cupboard doors, Dan’s head resting on Phil’s shoulder as Phil pulls him in with the arms wrapped around him.

“God, I just fucking suck” Dan croaks, rubbing his eyes tiredly with the heel of his hand, causing Phil to pull him in closer,

“No you don’t” Phil says calmly but Dan just nods vigorously,

“Yes I bloody well do, Phil” he exclaims, voice cracking slightly, “I haven’t been able to do fucking anything” he cries, fresh tears slipping down his cheeks,

“You know, my first week of uni was a nightmare” Phil starts, his voice is warm and gentle,  
“Did I ever tell you about the time I went to the wrong class, for two weeks straight?” He voice catches onto a laugh at the end, causing Dan to giggle too,

“What?” he smiles,

“Yep,” Phil nods, looking down at Dan who’s lips have now shaped into a fond smile, “No one told me and it was incredibly embarrassing” he laughs again, 

“Wow, Phil” Dan laughs, sniffing again.

There’s a beat of silence before Phil’s laughing again,

“Oh God, another time you know what I did?” Dan shakes his head, “I spilt my coffee all over this guy’s laptop, right?” Dan is now laughing hard, head buried in Phil’s chest, “And the guy actually got up to fight me and I actually ran away and avoided the library for the next two years!” 

Dan’s got tears in his eyes from laughing and their both collapsing in on each other. Phil’s arms haven’t left Dan’s waist and Dan is leaning closer and closer with every passing second.

They sit in a comfortable silence for a while when Dan frowns,  
“What if I’m not cut out for uni?” he asks, unsure.

Phil shrugs,  
“Maybe you’re not” he says simply, “But if it’s something you wanna try then you have to push through the horrible bits to make it work”

He has a point – maybe Dan’s overreacting and he needs to find his chill and just take a deep breath.  
But at the same time, what if he doesn’t want it to work?

“What if I don’t wanna make it work?” He voices his thought to Phil, looking up at him through wet eyelashes,

“Then that’s okay too”

Dan sighs, “Phil you’re supposed to tell me that I have to make it work, to suck it up and become a lawyer” he looks back down at his hands in his lap,

“Yeah but why would I do that?” Phil asks back and Dan huffs again,

“Because I’m you’re overemotional wreck of a boyfriend and you’re supposed to want what’s best for me” Dan quips, but there’s no bite to it.

There’s a beat of silence before,  
“Exactly.”

Dan blinks up at him,  
“What?”

“I want what’s best for you” Phil smiles,

“Yeah but I can’t have that if I drop out or something” he rolls his eyes,

“Yeah but it clearly isn’t making you happy,” he says so-matter-of-factly, “so what’s the point?”

Dan goes to open his mouth, but shuts it quickly. Maybe his dork of a boyfriend has a point.

“What would my parents say though? It’s only been two weeks Phil” he breaths and Phil pulls him closer,

“Doesn’t matter what they say Dan, it’s your life after all” he yawns, “and besides take as much time as you need to decide, it doesn’t have to be right now does it?” 

Dan shakes his head, “Maybe you’re right” he says quietly, biting his thumb nail in thought,

“Of course I’m right you dingus” Phil jokes and Dan uses his advantage and uses his elbow to poke him in the ribs, making him squirm slightly.

They laugh before Phil suddenly stops,  
“The hot chocolate!” he exclaims, jumping up causing Dan to slide onto the floor, grumbling as he gets up.  
“I never even got to wash my clothes” Dan mumbles as he looks over at the pile of dirty laundry scattered on Phil’s kitchen floor,

He lets himself slide down until he’s uncomfortably laying horizontally before he sits up again quickly,

“Fuck I have a class tomorrow” He remembers suddenly and forces himself up off the floor to join Phil who is reheating the mugs of milk in the microwave.

“Orrr,” Phil says, turning to face his boyfriend, “you could give yourself a mini break and stay here tonight?” he suggest in a sing-song-y voice,

“Ugh Phil,” Dan groans, slouching, “why do you do this to me?” he whines, and he really, desperately wishes he could protest, but there’s a stirring in his heart that makes him not,

“I guess I could sleepover – if that’s okay?” he gives in far too easily and catches Phil’s smirk as he takes out the now warm milk,

Phil turns to Dan and gives him one of his smiles that’s just bursting with love,   
“It’s always okay”

They’re about to retreat to Phil’s room with their hot chocolates, topped with way too much whipped cream and marshmallows (the ones that Phil hadn’t eaten) when Dan’s stops, 

“Oh, but I probably should put my clothes in the wash though, don’t want to stink out your kitchen with my gross week old clothes” he jokes, and Phil laughs,

“Yeah, I guess I’m gonna have to put up with you and your dirty socks from here on out, aren’t I?” 

The night grows and soon the two boys are entangled between the sheets and long limbs, sleeping soundly, soft snores and small breaths filling the room. It started raining, and it’s trickling down the windows as the rain blows harshly, but neither of them are obvious to the outside world as their engulfed in sleep. 

They’d fallen asleep fairly quickly, not realising how tired they really were, and for the first time in a long time, Dan felt comfortable to fall asleep – to drift of peacefully without the overwhelming, crushing fear of his future, because he knew he had Phil.  
He had Phil; he had his home here, his family here, and he knew that Phil always had him, whether he was dealing with an existential crisis, a breakdown on the kitchen floor or even dirty socks – they had each other, and it would always be that way.

**Author's Note:**

> i know i said i was only gonna write one and only one phanfic but dans new video inspired me and i needed to write something after 10000 years of not writing and this was all i could come up with oops


End file.
